Asteroids for PSX

[S1500]

I had this game sitting on my shelf for years. I finally got down to playing it.

 

What a freaking horrible game. I was expecting something next-genish like a first-person version of the game, or something like that. No, it's just Asteroids with jazzed-up graphics. The self-replicating crystal asteroids are a pain in the ass. There's also enemies that will kill you rather easily right after you teleport.

 

This game is no Blasteroids. This game seems like a Jaguar title. Fancy sounds & graphics, but no depth. Sad, really.

[Retro Rogue]

I had this game sitting on my shelf for years. I finally got down to playing it.

 

What a freaking horrible game. I was expecting something next-genish like a first-person version of the game, or something like that. No, it's just Asteroids with jazzed-up graphics. The self-replicating crystal asteroids are a pain in the ass. There's also enemies that will kill you rather easily right after you teleport.

 

This game is no Blasteroids. This game seems like a Jaguar title. Fancy sounds & graphics, but no depth. Sad, really.

 

 

You're talking about the Activision remake? Yah, that and their Battlezone "update" were terrible IMHO, and were done as leftovers via a licensing agreement between Atari Corp. (under JTS) and Activision. That was when that whole generation of "retro remakes" started happening - i.e. let's take a title we're not familiar with and Nintendoize them (i.e. lots of powerups, bosses, etc.) and maybe even throw them in to 3D! I think the only one of those I like from that generation was the Q-Bert remake. Hasbro's Pong, Breakout, Centipede, and Missile Command all sucked, Frogger was maybe a C/C-, the two Activision remakes sucked. Ran in to the same Nintendoize situation with the Atari Classics Devloved and related Xbox live downloads.

Edited November 27, 2009 by wgungfu

[jaybird3rd]

I still have all of those Hasbro-era Atari "retro remakes" for the PC, and I have to agree than most of them were very weak. I seem to recall liking Missile Command, since it was the most straightforward of all the "upgrades," but it still wasn't as good as Missile Command 3-D on the Jaguar. Some of the others (Galaga: Destination Earth, Dig Dug, Combat) were so bad that I only played them once or twice. Warlords looked interesting, but the 3-D mode always ran so slowly on the hardware I had at the time (about nine years ago) that I never really got to try it; maybe I should give it a second look.

 

The thing that was most interesting about Q*Bert was the mode which let you play the original emulated game with an updated graphical skin. This was about the only mode I ever really played, and I wish the other "remakes" offered--or even limited themselves to--this option. Instead, they added a bunch of options and variations that never contributed in any fundamental way to the gameplay (and often detracted from it), and the results were so disappointing that they really turned me off of the whole idea of "updating" classic games in this way. I much prefer to play the originals via emulation instead.

 

In my opinion, the best of all of the Hasbro/Atari releases was probably The Next Tetris, which I still play on the PC, though this wasn't a "remake" in quite the same way the others were.

Edited November 27, 2009 by jaybird3rd

[SoulBlazer]

I really enjoy all the Aracde games on XBox Live. You can either play the original game or the 'remixed' ones. I know both the Atari and Konami games offer this, and the only addition with the Midway and Sega games is MP support.

 

But I agree about this version of Asteroids being poor.

[S1500]

IIRC the remake of Battlezone was quoted by my friend as being moreso a better racing game than a tank combat game.

[darthkur]

I have the Asteroids, Missile Command, Q*bert and Pong remakes and I have fun with them all. I guess I'm either exceptionally tolerant or weird. Probably both.

[Warriorisabouttodie]

I have the Asteroids, Missile Command, Q*bert and Pong remakes and I have fun with them all. I guess I'm either exceptionally tolerant or weird. Probably both.

 

 

you aren't the only one. I like Asteroids for the PSX although I prefer the N64 version (no load times) once you get the hang of the power ups and the way the game works it's addicting.

[jeremysart]

I do agree that these remakes were bad, and produced at the wrong time.

 

However, I like the idea of maintaining the original game, with NO changes, but just simply updating the graphics. Being the artist I am, I would LOVE to remake some of the classics, even if just a flash title, but I need a programming friend.

 

There are a few Atari, INTV, and Coleco favorites I would enjoy to re-draw

[rpgfaker]

I liked that Asteroids, I wish there were more graphical updates to all the classics. As for shallow gameplay IT'S ASTEROIDS!!..for god's sake it plays fine. Although I agree about the lame ice asteroids.

 

I'm kinda hoping that Atari does this sort of thing for all the 2600 games on a compilation for PS3/360/PC, over the top graphics with classic sound effects and undisturbed gameplay. Imagine Atari Classics Evolved done properly but with all the 2600 games updated and still include the originals sort of a ++ Atari Anthology Evolved ++.

[KIWASABI]

I always wondered about those Asteroids and Missile Command remakes. Missile Command 3d on Jaguar was pretty cool; how good is the PS1 game compared to that?

 

The only one of the remakes that I have is Breakout and it's great. It has really good music, and they actually managed to create a decent story around such basic gameplay. They even turned the paddle into a character and gave him a lot of personality with his animations. I recommend checking that game out if you can get it for cheap; it ends up being extremely short and doesn't even have harder difficulties.

 

-Adam

[Retro Rogue]

The only one of the remakes that I have is Breakout and it's great. It has really good music, and they actually managed to create a decent story around such basic gameplay. They even turned the paddle into a character and gave him a lot of personality with his animations.

 

That's exactly everything that was wrong with that one. Breakout/Super Breakout already had characters and storylines involved with it, it's like they were completely unaware and turned it in to a kiddie game.

[jaybird3rd]

That's exactly everything that was wrong with that one. Breakout/Super Breakout already had characters and storylines involved with it, it's like they were completely unaware and turned it in to a kiddie game.

Personally, I don't know why Breakout needs a storyline in the first place, whether you're talking about the one from the remake or from the 2600 version ("Imagine you're flying through space ... and you encounter a rainbow-colored force field ..."). Games like Breakout and Tetris are just highly abstract play patterns that aren't necessarily supposed to correspond to anything in the real world. Making up my own weird backstories was always part of the fun for me.

Edited November 29, 2009 by jaybird3rd

[onmode-ky]

I still have all of those Hasbro-era Atari "retro remakes" for the PC, and I have to agree than most of them were very weak. I seem to recall liking Missile Command, since it was the most straightforward of all the "upgrades," but it still wasn't as good as Missile Command 3-D on the Jaguar. Some of the others (Galaga: Destination Earth, Dig Dug, Combat) were so bad that I only played them once or twice. Warlords looked interesting, but the 3-D mode always ran so slowly on the hardware I had at the time (about nine years ago) that I never really got to try it; maybe I should give it a second look.

 

I have several of the retro arcade remakes for the PC. Specifically, I have:

 

- Centipede: I gave up on this game fairly early on due to control/visibility issues; i.e., I was never able to develop the ability to tell how far away something was from me in the 3D space, which resulted in lots of deaths. It didn't help that the autosave would not let me do stages over and try to complete them with losing fewer lives (well, maybe that's inaccurate, but it was some save-related handicap like that, anyway). The graphics were terrible (maybe this was part of why I had such problems telling how far away things were); the game only supported early 3D video cards and thus played with lowest quality graphics on my machine of the time (I got the game within the past 6 years, so it offered no support for my video card).

 

- Missile Command (from Atari Revival): I gave up on this one pretty early on, too, because putting Missile Command gameplay into a rotating, 360-degree environment just made it too difficult for me to manage. I guess if you were good at the original, this might be playable for you. I hacked my save file to see what the final stage looked like; I died in seconds.

 

- Combat (from Atari Revival): I thought this was all right, but with some caveats: 1) it really is nothing like the original Combat's tank modes; 2) it feels quite a bit like a budget game, due mainly to the small number of weapons and enemy tank types; 3) maybe the game was actually more challenging than it was for me only because my computer had some slowdown and gave me leeway for reaction time. A hint: I found out which levels had gateways to secret levels by grepping for a word in the level data files (probably the word "secret"?).

 

- Warlords (from Atari Revival): I remember I liked this remake of the classic (which is actually included, from Digital Eclipse, alongside the remake), but I can't remember what particularly was good about it. I know it had power-ups, one in particular being a castle rotation (it would switch the players' castles; it's great for royally ticking off your friends!). And, I remember that the final level had you deflecting the fireballs in order to use them to kill the dragon. Anyway, from Atari Revival, this was the one I liked the most. Writing about this stuff reminded me that I pulled the music from the game files, and so I'm listening to the MP3s from the soundtrack right now for the first time in a few years.

 

- Pac-Man: Adventures in Time: I enjoyed this a lot. In fact, I consider it one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had, and I played it thoroughly (unlocked everything there was to be unlocked). In my opinion, this game was the ultimate evolution of the original Pac-Man gameplay, with a huge variety of maze designs overlaid on numerous world themes. I particularly enjoyed the sphere and cylinder mazes. This was also one of the games where I dug into the save files with a hex editor to figure out what information was stored where. I remember finding it odd that while the save file stored the actual number of ghosts I ate in a map, the number displayed in the game for my performance would at most be the target for an unlock. So, it wouldn't show just how much overkill I did. I wish Namco's own Pac-Man World series had been more like this game. I actually got this from Best Buy in an "Ultimate Pac Pack," but the other two games in that, Ms. Pac-Man: Quest for the Golden Maze and Pac-Man All-Stars, were clearly quickie budget games and were nowhere near as fun as Adventures in Time.

 

I never got the Breakout remake or Pong: The Next Level, but I wondered how they were. There are some opinions here about the Breakout remake; anyone care to talk about the Pong one? Looks like IGN liked it a lot.

 

Incidentally, it seems this is my 100th post at AtariAge. It only took me nearly 4 years.

 

onmode-ky

[jaybird3rd]

I have several of the retro arcade remakes for the PC. Specifically, I have:

 

- Centipede: I gave up on this game fairly early on due to control/visibility issues; i.e., I was never able to develop the ability to tell how far away something was from me in the 3D space, which resulted in lots of deaths. It didn't help that the autosave would not let me do stages over and try to complete them with losing fewer lives (well, maybe that's inaccurate, but it was some save-related handicap like that, anyway). The graphics were terrible (maybe this was part of why I had such problems telling how far away things were); the game only supported early 3D video cards and thus played with lowest quality graphics on my machine of the time (I got the game within the past 6 years, so it offered no support for my video card).

The PC version of Centipede had some serious performance issues; the graphics were always so slow that the game was nearly unplayable. I think they released some service packs for it, which helped a little. I was still excited to get it, since (if memory serves) it was the first new product to be released with the Atari logo on it since the Tramiel years; Hasbro had already released Frogger, but I think that was before they acquired Atari. The Dreamcast version of Centipede came later and solved many of the performance problems, and actually included the original Centipede coin-op running through emulation.

 

 

- Combat (from Atari Revival): I thought this was all right, but with some caveats: 1) it really is nothing like the original Combat's tank modes; 2) it feels quite a bit like a budget game, due mainly to the small number of weapons and enemy tank types; 3) maybe the game was actually more challenging than it was for me only because my computer had some slowdown and gave me leeway for reaction time. A hint: I found out which levels had gateways to secret levels by grepping for a word in the level data files (probably the word "secret"?).

 

- Warlords (from Atari Revival): I remember I liked this remake of the classic (which is actually included, from Digital Eclipse, alongside the remake), but I can't remember what particularly was good about it. I know it had power-ups, one in particular being a castle rotation (it would switch the players' castles; it's great for royally ticking off your friends!). And, I remember that the final level had you deflecting the fireballs in order to use them to kill the dragon. Anyway, from Atari Revival, this was the one I liked the most. Writing about this stuff reminded me that I pulled the music from the game files, and so I'm listening to the MP3s from the soundtrack right now for the first time in a few years.

 

- Pac-Man: Adventures in Time: I enjoyed this a lot. In fact, I consider it one of the most fun gaming experiences I've ever had, and I played it thoroughly (unlocked everything there was to be unlocked). In my opinion, this game was the ultimate evolution of the original Pac-Man gameplay, with a huge variety of maze designs overlaid on numerous world themes. I particularly enjoyed the sphere and cylinder mazes. This was also one of the games where I dug into the save files with a hex editor to figure out what information was stored where. I remember finding it odd that while the save file stored the actual number of ghosts I ate in a map, the number displayed in the game for my performance would at most be the target for an unlock. So, it wouldn't show just how much overkill I did. I wish Namco's own Pac-Man World series had been more like this game. I actually got this from Best Buy in an "Ultimate Pac Pack," but the other two games in that, Ms. Pac-Man: Quest for the Golden Maze and Pac-Man All-Stars, were clearly quickie budget games and were nowhere near as fun as Adventures in Time.

I liked "Pac-Man: Adventures In Time," but for some reason I didn't play it long enough to form a strong opinion. I think that Combat, Dig Dug, and Ms. Pac-Man were among the last of the "classic remakes" that Hasbro (or maybe it was Infogrames by that time) shipped, and they didn't have the production values of the earlier ones. Unfortunately, for the most part, they weren't any more fun to play, either. Combat was particularly disappointing: it had a lot of potential and could have been a fun blasting game with more variety and some tweaking. As it was, the tanks were too hard to control and the game was too sluggish. I really do need to give Warlords another try.

 

 

I never got the Breakout remake or Pong: The Next Level, but I wondered how they were. There are some opinions here about the Breakout remake; anyone care to talk about the Pong one? Looks like IGN liked it a lot.

Pong was a lot like Breakout, which came about a year later. It was divided up into a series of stages, each of which was a different take on the classic Pong play mechanic: some played on circular tables, some played on tables that weren't completely flat or which tipped from side to side, and so forth. They all had powerups that spun around on the playfield like tops, which you had to hit with the ball, and at the last stage, you got to play the "original" Pong game (not exactly the same as the original, but close enough).

 

Random memory: I had an original Pong coin-op cabinet in my office around that time (1998), with two boxes from the Pong remake propped up on top of it. A coworker and I used to alternate between playing the remake and the original coin-op during lunch breaks. I've still got the Pong cab in storage, although it isn't working anymore.

[Retro Rogue]

- Missile Command (from Atari Revival): I gave up on this one pretty early on, too, because putting Missile Command gameplay into a rotating, 360-degree environment just made it too difficult for me to manage. I guess if you were good at the original, this might be playable for you. I hacked my save file to see what the final stage looked like; I died in seconds.

 

- Warlords (from Atari Revival): I remember I liked this remake of the classic (which is actually included, from Digital Eclipse, alongside the remake), but I can't remember what particularly was good about it. I know it had power-ups, one in particular being a castle rotation (it would switch the players' castles; it's great for royally ticking off your friends!). And, I remember that the final level had you deflecting the fireballs in order to use them to kill the dragon. Anyway, from Atari Revival, this was the one I liked the most. Writing about this stuff reminded me that I pulled the music from the game files, and so I'm listening to the MP3s from the soundtrack right now for the first time in a few years.

 

 

What you mention above, and what happened with the Atari Classics Devolved "updates", are some of the exact things I dislike about these updates. Nintendoizing with powerups, or changing items and giving "enhancements" that deviate from the background of the original game play. It's something Curt and I have had numerous conversations with project managers and mangers on while on contracts, including one we did this past year updating several properties. There's an existing road map to follow for updating or producing sequels to these games, and many of these guys who grew up Nintendo and Sega but are now managing older properties are usually clueless to it. Look at "updates" to Breakout turning it in to Arkanoid clones (which is ironic). Or the more recent "updates" to missile command for the PSP and Xbox360 adding a completely screwed up layout and weapon "updates" that had nothing to do with updating the actual background of the game and it's game play. (Which is also why it got such horrible reviews).

 

Incidentally, it seems this is my 100th post at AtariAge. It only took me nearly 4 years.

 

onmode-ky

 

Congrats! Here's to another 100.

[Retro Rogue]

Hasbro had already released Frogger, but I think that was before they acquired Atari.

 

Yes, it was released in '97. However, it was under license from Konami, the actual owners of the property.

[Austin]

I didn't think Asteroids on the PSX was bad. The visuals are cool, but it doesn't excite the original gameplay like Tempest 2000 did. Really, it's Asteroids, that's about it. I have a difficult time playing any incarnation of the game these days for more than three minutes at a time.

 

The PC Centipede, to give it credit (despite its shoddy new single player adventure), has a pretty cool all-3D remake of the original arcade game. That portion of the game was actually pretty fun.

Edited December 2, 2009 by Austin

[pinball22]

I rented the N64 version of the Asteroids remake at the time and I remember being underwhelmed. I did enjoy the Space Invaders remake, and bought that one eventually. I've got the GBC versions of the Q*Bert and Pong ones... the Q*Bert is pretty fun, Pong is OK. I've played the Centipede one on the Dreamcast... it was reasonably fun but always felt a little awkward to me.

[Video]

I seem to remember Pong not having the paddle physics or some such. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seemed to me that the ball didn't care where on the paddle it hit....and since much of the strategy was how you hit the ball, it made it not fun IMO.

 

I liked the Gameboy Asteroids, but it looks a lot like the 7800 asteroids to me, but then, I suck at asteroids in general, so maybe I just never got up high enough for the bullshit asteroids.

 

The DC Frogger's were pretty cool, I thought. More or less took the same gameplay elements and ramped it up to an adventure game instead of a static single screen level.

 

Always wanted Pole Position 64 and Battlezone 64 but never got either.

 

Most of the remakes are cool, but some suck, or areto far away from the original game they are inspired by to really be called a "remake" (maybe a sequel or something)

[KIWASABI]

There's an existing road map to follow for updating or producing sequels to these games, and many of these guys who grew up Nintendo and Sega but are now managing older properties are usually clueless to it.

 

What is the existing road map you speak of?

 

-Adam

[Retro Rogue]

There's an existing road map to follow for updating or producing sequels to these games, and many of these guys who grew up Nintendo and Sega but are now managing older properties are usually clueless to it.

 

What is the existing road map you speak of?

 

-Adam

 

It has to do with understanding the properties, their history, what was behind their development, what the game play and elements were meant to try and accomplish, etc., etc. There's a reason for example, why Missile Command Evolved got review comments like "The new version feels like someone sat down and wrote out a document explaining what Missile Command was then handed it to someone who had never even seen the original game for programming." The method for "updating", and even creating sequels is pretty well spelled out when you're familiar with what I stated. Most of these Nintendo and Sega generation guys a) Aren't familiar with any of it, and b) approach it purely from the point of updating through content - i.e. throw in obligatory power ups and the like as well as "new" graphics based upon superficial eye candy.

[Retro Rogue]

BTW, here's yet another example of the problem -

 

http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/150032-arcade-zone-by-activision

[KIWASABI]

It has to do with understanding the properties, their history, what was behind their development, what the game play and elements were meant to try and accomplish, etc., etc.

 

Most of these Nintendo and Sega generation guys a) Aren't familiar with any of it, and b) approach it purely from the point of updating through content - i.e. throw in obligatory power ups and the like as well as "new" graphics based upon superficial eye candy.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation. So how would you go about updating one of your favorite classics (pick one just so we're talking in specifics here)? If you take away adding new content to an existing property, really all that's left is the updated graphics, isn't it? Or maybe you just mean they aren't taking enough care when choosing what new content to add?

 

As a side note, I met a guy at the Independent Games Conference West who claimed to have licensed the rights to all of Atari's 80's arcade games. He's gotten Ed Logg, Owen Rubin, and a couple of the other guys on board supposedly. The update he really wants to do the most is Major Havoc. Personally I think he should be doing a good remake of Centipede (or something else remotely popular), but whatever floats his boat I guess. His target platforms are the iPhone and Android.

 

-Adam

Edited December 3, 2009 by KIWASABI

[pinball22]

... The update he really wants to do the most is Major Havoc... His target platforms are the iPhone and Android.

 

 

My iPhone just got really excited about playing Major Havoc!

[SoulBlazer]

I agree about the remake of Missle Command. Not good at all. The lighting is hard to use and the game is a lot tougher to play. The original game plays just fine, though. Sure, the analog stick may not be as good as a trackball, but I can still do just as well in it as with the arcade version. Some people are too damn picky, I think sometimes.